Bird's-eye view
In this intensely personal charge to his son in the faith, the apostle Paul is addressing a recurring problem in Timothy's ministry, which was a certain native timidity. Paul, writing from a Roman prison and facing his own execution, is not interested in giving Timothy a mere pep talk. Rather, he is reminding him of the objective, supernatural resources that are his by virtue of his calling and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The exhortation is grounded in theology proper. The core of the passage is a contrast between two spirits: the spirit of fear, which is from man, and the Spirit of God, which is characterized by power, love, and a sound mind. Paul is calling Timothy to remember his ordination, to actively stir up the ministerial gift God gave him, and to live out of the divine reality of the Spirit he has received, not out of the emotional reality of his own natural disposition. It is a call to courageous, disciplined, and loving pastoral faithfulness in the face of external opposition and internal weakness.
This passage serves as a foundational text for all Christian ministry. It teaches us that ministry is not a product of natural talent or personality, but of a divine gift that must be actively maintained. It also teaches that the essential equipment for ministry is not a particular program or technique, but the very character of the Holy Spirit Himself. The answer to fear is not self-generated courage, but a robust reliance on the God who gives power, the God who is love, and the God who grants sobriety and self-mastery. This is a potent reminder that our sufficiency for any trial or task is never in ourselves, but always in God.
Outline
- 1. The Pastoral Charge (2 Tim 1:6-7)
- a. The Exhortation: Stir Up the Gift (2 Tim 1:6)
- i. The Occasion for the Reminder ("For this reason...")
- ii. The Action Required ("...kindle afresh...")
- iii. The Object in View ("...the gift of God...")
- iv. The Ordination Remembered ("...through the laying on of my hands.")
- b. The Theological Foundation: The Spirit Given (2 Tim 1:7)
- i. The Divine Negative ("For God has not given us a spirit of timidity...")
- ii. The Divine Positive ("...but of power and love and self-discipline.")
Context In 2 Timothy
Second Timothy is Paul's final letter, written from a dungeon in Rome shortly before his martyrdom. It is his last will and testament to his most trusted delegate, Timothy. The tone is sober, urgent, and deeply affectionate. Paul knows his time is short (2 Tim 4:6-8), and he is concerned for the future of the gospel in the churches Timothy oversees, particularly Ephesus. False teaching is on the rise, and opposition is intensifying. In the preceding verses (2 Tim 1:3-5), Paul has just reminded Timothy of his sincere faith, a heritage passed down from his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. This reminder of Timothy's genuine faith is the foundation ("For this reason...") upon which Paul builds his charge in our text. He is not questioning Timothy's salvation, but rather calling him to act consistently with the faith he possesses and the gift he has received. This charge to be courageous in verses 6-7 is immediately followed by a call not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord or of Paul's imprisonment (2 Tim 1:8), showing that the battle against timidity has immediate, practical consequences for public witness.
Key Issues
- The Nature of Spiritual Gifts in Ministry
- The Role of Ordination (Laying on of Hands)
- The Sin of Timidity in Leadership
- The Relationship Between the Spirit's Gifting and Human Responsibility
- The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Virtue (Power, Love, Self-Discipline)
The Fire and the Fuel
There is a crucial distinction we must always maintain between the gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit. Spiritual gifts, like teaching or administration, are abilities sovereignly given by God for the edification of the church. They are tools. A man can possess the gift of teaching and still be carnal, as the Corinthians plainly demonstrated. The fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, love, joy, peace, and so on, is the very character of Christ being formed in us. It is not a tool we wield, but a character we exhibit. When someone is exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, he is, by definition, walking rightly with God.
In our text, Paul brings both concepts to bear on Timothy. The "gift of God" in verse 6 is the specific spiritual endowment Timothy received for his ministerial office. It is the fire in the hearth. But this fire can die down to embers if it is neglected. It needs to be stoked. And what is the fuel? What is the poker that stirs the coals? It is the reality described in verse 7. The fuel is a Spirit-wrought character of power, love, and self-discipline. The gift for ministry is fanned into flame by the character of the minister. You cannot effectively minister the gospel of a powerful God if you are crippled by fear. You cannot minister the gospel of a loving God if you are selfish. And you cannot minister the gospel of a self-controlled God if you are undisciplined. Paul is telling Timothy to take the objective reality of the Spirit he has been given and use it to stir up the specific gift he has been given.
Verse by Verse Commentary
6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
Paul begins with a logical connector, For this reason. The reason is what he has just stated in the previous verse: his confidence in Timothy's genuine, multi-generational faith. Because your faith is real, Timothy, you have the capacity to do what I am about to tell you. This is not a call to work something up out of nothing. It is a call to take what is already there and put it to work. He tells him to kindle afresh, or to fan into flame, the gift of God. The image is that of a fire that has burned down to glowing embers. It is still hot, still real, but it is not blazing. It is not giving off much heat or light. Neglect, discouragement, or fear can cause the fire of our ministerial effectiveness to die down. It requires a deliberate act of the will, getting out the poker and stirring the coals, to get it roaring again. This gift is a gift of God, a charisma, a grace-gift. It is not a natural talent, though it may make use of natural talents. It is a supernatural equipping for the task of ministry. And it was imparted to him through the laying on of my hands. This refers to Timothy's ordination. This was a formal, public act where the leadership of the church (including the apostle Paul) laid hands on him, setting him apart for the ministry and praying for God to equip him for it. Paul is reminding Timothy that his ministry is not a private career choice; it is a public, acknowledged, and divinely commissioned office.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline.
Here is the theological foundation for the command. Why should Timothy fan the gift into flame? Because the very nature of the God who called him and the Spirit who indwells him is antithetical to the cowardice that would let the fire die. The word for timidity here means cowardice or fearfulness. It appears that Timothy was naturally a more reserved or perhaps even timid man, and the pressures of ministry in Ephesus were a heavy burden. Paul's point is that this spirit of fear is not what God gives. It is not part of the divine equipment. When God the Holy Spirit comes to take up residence in a believer, He does not bring fear with Him. He drives it out. What He brings instead is a threefold blessing. First, He brings power. This is not raw, worldly power, but the divine ability to accomplish God's will, particularly in witness and in enduring suffering. Second, He brings love. This is agape love, a self-giving commitment to the good of others that is the very essence of God's character. A minister empowered by this love is not motivated by self-preservation, but by a desire for God's glory and the good of His flock. Third, He brings self-discipline. The Greek word here, sophronismos, is a magnificent one. It means a sound mind, sobriety, self-mastery, good judgment. It is the ability to think clearly and act rightly under pressure. It is the opposite of being flighty, emotionally driven, or panicked. This is the Spirit God has given to us, and therefore we have no business coddling a spirit of fear.
Application
Every Christian, and particularly every man called to leadership, needs to take these two verses to heart. God has given each of us gifts for the building up of His church. Those gifts are not self-stoking. They can lie dormant. They can be reduced to embers through our laziness, our fear of man, our love of comfort, or our discouragement. We have a responsibility to get out the poker. This means engaging in the ordinary means of grace with vigor. It means saying yes to difficult duties. It means stepping out in faith when our knees are knocking. It means doing the work of the ministry whether we feel like it or not.
And when we are tempted to shrink back, we must preach verse 7 to ourselves. The fear we feel is a liar. It is a ghost. It is not the reality that God has placed within us. The reality is the Holy Spirit. The reality is power. The reality is love. The reality is a sound mind. We must learn to act out of that reality, and not out of the phantom feelings of fear. Are you afraid to share the gospel with a neighbor? God has not given you a spirit of timidity, but of power. Are you tempted to be selfish with your time or resources? God has not given you a spirit of timidity, but of love. Are you tempted to panic in the face of cultural chaos or personal trial? God has not given you a spirit of timidity, but of self-discipline. The Christian life is a call to continually lay hold of what we have already been given in Christ. Stir up the gift. The Spirit of God is in you.